My friends all know that I'm a pathetic fanatic about pens. My current favorite can't be found in the US and I am guarding my dwindling supply that a friend sent me from Barcelona and that Jacob brought me from Zurich. So today I found myself in a workshop without a pen.
My friend M offered me a very nice-looking ballpoint. I never draw in ballpoint and have several reasons that I could bore you with. But I was desperate, and as I drew I thought of a dear former student who drew only in partially used cheap ballpoint pens. He kept them in cans according to their amount of used-upness and corresponding color value. His portraits were elegant and nuanced. I noticed that I could actually control value very well with this ballpoint. I didn't get the crisp black lines of my fave, but there is a very appealing softness to this ballpoint and the drawings I could do with it-- muddy shoes and boots and one pair of soft house slippers on this wet wet morning in a friend's garage studio. Thanks, M!
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